Wow, I actually finished another chapter. How good is that? Please review, it helps inspire me. And don't just go "It was gud I lieked it", or "Omg that sukked." Give me a short paragraph, and reasons why you liked/disliked it. And tell me what you'd like to see in the next chapter!
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"How's your arm?"
Cam instinctively touched the thick bandages on her arm, feeling her arm throb more blindingly now that it had been mentioned. Two days after the chromium knives had severed her flesh, the pain had started. It wasn't the worst thing she had experienced, but still enough to keep her uncomfortable. But she wasn't going to let Farren know that.
"It's not too bad."
Farren's gaze was concerned, as if she didn't believe her. But if there was doubt, she didn't mention it. She changed the subject, a classic Farren thing to do. "Did you hear about what happened in Ecruteak?"
Cam sat down at in the uncomfortable looking grey chair that had been provided and winced. No wonder Farren was sprawled on her bed. "No. What happened?"
"You know there are mutants that live there, right?" Cam nodded. She tried to hide her surprise that Farren had mentioned mutants; usually she didn't like to be reminded of how different she was. It embarrassed her.
Farren rubbed her fingers against her braces. "Some noob lost control of his Rhyhorn. It rampaged and bashed down a fence, and headed straight for this chick. Darcey, who's the Umbreon girl, teleported over and saved her, then the Warreon mutant who goes there too threw it over the fence."
Cam merely raised her eyebrows and stared out the window at a Pidgey who was tapping on the window, green eyes shimming in the hope of food. "That's a nice story."
Farren rolled off her bed, and walked over to the window. With a click she unfastened the latch and pulled the Pidgey into her arms. It cooed softly as she stroked it while gazing at the ceiling; it must have been tame to allow her to hold it like that. Out of the blue, Farren mumbled: "Do you know what my name means, Cam?"
Why is she acting so odd? She knows she didn't hurt me too much. "Umm, no."
Farren continued to stroke the Pidgey, but looked Cam dead in the eyes. For once in Cam's life, she felt uncomfortable with the intensity of her friend's slate eyes.
Her gaze wandered to the ceiling again. "It means 'Iron-grey'. Even my name reflects what I am. I think it's time I started to come to terms with what this means. This is who I am." She said firmly.
After Cam had gone home, Farren's words tumbled in her mind like a candy wrapper in the breeze. This is who I am.
But what about who I though you were?
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The water flowed around her, a single fluid entity. It soothed her itching dry skin; it healed tiny cuts that she'd picked up during the day. It was a tight yet gentle aqueous womb. Here, underneath the surface, she was safe. It was a blanket protecting her from the world. Her deep indigo hair spread around her like a halo.
Then, she let her molecules disperse, and fade to water. She became one with the pool, but still keeping herself grouped together.
This was how she could hide, and this was how she could feel nothing.
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"What the hell happened?"
Naomi's chartreuse eyes were questioning. The feisty young girl placed her hands firmly on her hips, a golden eyebrow raised.
Darcie gulped, unable to meet her eyes for once. Running a hand through her long, dark hair, she blinked and looked through the window. She didn't want to answer. She just wanted to disappear and feint herself home. She could, if she wanted to. But the part of her that loved Naomi more than she loved her own life made her stay.
"I-er, saved you."
Naomi's other eyebrow joined the first high on her forehead. "Well, I know that. But how…and why?"
Darcie sighed, and rubbed her back where the horn had lodged itself under her rib. It didn't hurt, but there was an odd tingling sensation where Ellen had healed it. The psychic youth now stood outside the classroom with her arms folded, watching the pair with deep blue eyes. Darcie avoided her gaze, and stumbled over Naomi's question. Should I tell her, or not? The Umbreon girl feared her reaction; what if she didn't want to know her after this? The very thought of this made Darcey shudder unhappily.
But then, a little voice in the back of her head piped up. Naomi will appreciate you telling the truth. Besides, you're a crap liar. Darcey blinked happily at the thought she could be so wise, but then she caught Ellen's grin out the corner of her eye. "Tell her," she mouthed.
Darcie nodded. She couldn't hold this back from the one she loved any longer.
"I'm the Umbreon mutant," she blurted out. "I feinted over there to save you."
Namoi's gaze widened slightly. For a moment she was silent, and the only noise in the room was Darcie's blood pounding in her ears.
"What the hell? How come nobody knew about your mutant-ness?" She squinted and peered at Darcie's eyes. "Aren't you supposed to have red eyes? They look brown to me."
Darcie gave a strained grin and brought her hand. Wincing slightly, she pinched the film of plastic out of her eye, and blinked rapidly to clear away the itchiness. After she repeated the same with her other eye, she met Naomi's horrified green gaze. Her heart gave an unpleasant lurch upon seeing her reaction.
"I-uh, er, gotta go," said Naomi, slowly backing away with her hands raised. "Please, just don't hurt me."
A pulse of horror ran through Darcie's body like an electric current. This wasn't supposed to happen! "NO! Wait, please!"
But Naomi was sprinting down the hall, her blonde hair trailing her like the tail of a comet. Ellen took a step back to let her fly past, watching her with a stoic expression.
Darcie slumped to the floor, her knees giving out. Images of Naomi raced through her head: a rare smile, a laugh, the passionate look she got in her eyes when she was talking about something she felt strongly about. Darcie emitted a low whine as her heart was torn in two by a throbbing pain.
A hand on her shoulder was soothing. "Darcie, I'm sorry. You tried your best, and it's her fault that she can't see past it. Let's go home."
Darcie gave a tormented sigh and got to her feet. Looking at Ellen mournfully in the eyes with her blazing crimson orb, she wrapped her arms around the girl and held her tight.
In a puff of black smoke, both sisters were gone.
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The mess and tangle of limbs and stench infuriated Jesse. The reek of sweat always stung his sensitve nose, and it didn't' help that his head was level with most of the other boys' armpits. He bit back a snarl as he fought his way through the crowd.
A particularly small boy, smaller than Jesse even, cemented himself to the spot and peered at Jesse through round, brown eyes. The curiosity towards the Warreon boy had heightened since the incident a few weeks ago when he had thrown that pathetic beast over the fence. Jesse wondered what the big deal was; the thing wasn't even that heavy. He had to keep reminding himself that these were weak, pathetic humans who couldn't do anything for themselves.
The boy, still staring at Jesse, continued to walk straight towards him even though it was quite apparent that other boy wanted to go this way. Jesse was not to be shaken; however, he continued to walk in a straight line and snarled "Out of m' way." when the boy came near.
The smaller teen jumped out of the way, banging himself against the lockers. Jesse had to restrain a small sadistic smile as the other boy winced in pain.
The walk to his classes was often like this. He accepted it because he knew that this was part of being a mutant, but it didn't mean he enjoyed it.
Jesse hated a lot of things, just like any human, but other people topped his list. Looking around the corridor, he could see a multitude of crap going on. He saw the upturned lip of a taller boy bulling a smaller one. He saw the dilated pupils of two girls excitingly bitching about another, and, the most sickeningly, he saw a couple with their arms wrapped firmly around each other, staring into one another's eyes with pure trust. He couldn't understand how, after all the betrayal and cruelty they could see around them, they could trust another. It was just foolish.
Hunching his shoulder and pulling his hoodie firmly over his head, he pushed though the crowd.
When a pair of shadows fell over him, he though it was more curious starers. Opening his mouth to protest, he was shocked to see the Stevenson twins standing before him.
Out of all the people at his school, Jesse detested Ellen and Darcie the least. They at least weren't pathetic and weak and could look after themselves. The ghost of a smile dusted his face as he saw the tall, lean figure of Ellen contrast with her shorter, stockier sister. Despite this difference, it was easy to see the similarities between the girls in their facial structure. Both had dark hair; Ellen's died dark brown to cover up her naturally lavender hair, and Darcie's naturally jet black hair tipped with gold, not blonde.
"Can I help you?" He said as politely has he could manage. While he didn't mind these girls, he needed to get to class before the peak hour in the halls really begun. Already the crowds were growing.
Ellen, the most outgoing of the pair, began to speak in her silky tone. "Me and Darcey just wanted to thank you about the other day," When Jesse raised an eyebrow, Darcey continued. "Y'know, with the Rhyhorn and stuff. You saved us a bit of work." The dark girl chewed her bottom lip, as if something else came to mind when she though about it.
"S'alright," Jesse mumbled, scuffing his feet. He was most uncomfortable with praise; it didn't happen often. "I gotta go. Bye."
"Seeya," said Ellen, and both twins watched him go.
Jesse felt in slightly better of a mood as he finished the trip to class. It was nice to know that some people weren't complete idiots.
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Dr. Marshall grinned widely as he held up his notepad for Sergeant Mathers to see.
The Sergeant wasn't as enthusiastic as the psychiatrist. His bushy grey moustache twitched in annoyance, and his big meaty hands gripped the edge of his desk firmly. He had been assured that Alex Marshall was a brilliant doctor and would get to the bottom of the spiny girl.
The doctor, upon seeing the Sergeant's irate expression, lost his smile. "Is there a problem, sir?"
A deep, throaty chuckle emitted from the police officer. "Problem? Of course there's a fucking problem. Excuse my French, doctor, but this is bullshit."
Dr. Marshall glimpsed at the notepad. "I think it's quite a good drawing," he remarked softly. "One of my best ever."
The cop's face began to change colour to a deep violet, making him resemble a beetroot slightly. "That doesn't make a difference! There's a severe problem with the medical system in this country if you hire a shrink to suss out a potentially dangerous citizen and he spends the entire time drawing a duck."
"Ok, well if offends you so much, I'll put it away." The doctor tucked the notepad into his breast pocket. "But the reality is, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Farren. She's a normal teen. Just suffering from a bit of depression, that's all."
The cop lent in, lanky limbs askew over the table. "Depression is a serious problem, doc. She might lose the plot and attack some innocent kid."
A certain quote of Farren's echoed through the doctor's mind. "If I were an ordinary loony, nobody would be like 'Oh, can she hurt my kids?' they would be all like 'Oh, that poor little sprite."
"Yes, sir, it is a problem. But I know something that might help."
The Sergeant's expression did not change. "I'm all ears," he growled.
"I have reason to believe that Farren would be better off in touch with her own kind. If she met with the other mutants, it would establish a feeling of belonging and curb her isolation a bit."
Sergeant Mathers grinned. "Well, I'm glad to see you're not a crackpot. That's a great idea! I'll call up the other carers. Thankyou doctor, you are dismissed.
Dr. Marshall gave a little bow before exiting the room, unable to wipe the smug grin from his face.
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Oh lawd, males and adults are so hard to write. I hope Jesse doesn't sound too girlish. Thanks for reading.